TY  - JOUR
PY  - 2016//
TI  - Does the StartReact effect apply to first-trial reactive movements?
JO  - PLoS one
A1  - Sutter, Katrin
A1  - Nonnekes, Jorik
A1  - Dibilio, Valeria
A1  - Geurts, Alexander C. H.
A1  - Weerdesteyn, Vivian
SP  - e0153129
EP  - e0153129
VL  - 11
IS  - 4
N2  - INTRODUCTION: StartReact is the acceleration of reaction time by a startling acoustic stimulus (SAS). The SAS is thought to release a pre-prepared motor program. Here, we investigated whether the StartReact effect is applicable to the very first trial in a series of repeated unpractised single-joint movements. <br><br>METHODS: Twenty healthy young subjects were instructed to perform a rapid ankle dorsiflexion movement in response to an imperative stimulus. Participants were divided in two groups of ten. Both groups performed 17 trials. In one group a SAS (116 dB) was given in the first trial, whereas the other group received a non-startling sound (70 dB) as the first imperative stimulus. In the remaining 16 trials, the SAS was given as the imperative stimulus in 25% of the trials in both groups. The same measurement was repeated one week later, but with the first-trial stimuli counterbalanced between groups. <br><br>RESULTS: When a SAS was given in the very first trial, participants had significantly shorter onset latencies compared to first-trial responses to a non-startling stimulus. Succeeding trials were significantly faster compared to the first trial, both for trials with and without a SAS. However, the difference between the first and succeeding trials was significantly larger for responses to a non-startling stimulus compared to responses triggered by a SAS. SAS-induced acceleration in the first trial of the second session was similar to that in succeeding trials of session 1. <br><br>DISCUSSION: The present results confirm that the StartReact phenomenon also applies to movements that have not yet been practiced in the experimental context. The excessive SAS-induced acceleration in the very first trial may be due to the absence of integration of novel context-specific information with the existing motor memory for movement execution. Our findings demonstrate that StartReact enables a rapid release of motor programs in the very first trial also without previous practice, which might provide a behavioural advantage in situations that require a rapid response to a potentially threatening environmental stimulus.<p />  <p>Language: en</p>
LA  - en
SN  - 1932-6203
UR  - http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0153129
ID  - ref1
ER  -